We talk a lot about how important it is for those leaving incarceration to have a job that pays a living wage.

But without Scott Whiting, who works to find employer-partners willing to provide good jobs to those with criminal records, there would be few opportunities out there for the thousands of those released here every year.

Scott's organizational skills really kick in running UNITE INDY's transportation program, requiring coordination with employers, drivers, and route planning in the use use of our 15-seat passenger vans that carry reentrants to jobs all over Central Indiana.

As an integral part of UNITE INDY, Scott also can be found at our Jobs for Life training programs or organizing another job fair with our employer partners, where hundreds of people with criminal backgrounds show up to find both work and a future. His commitment to providing a second chance is second to none and we are so proud to have him as a member of our team!

For financially vulnerable Hoosiers who can’t access traditional credit, predatory ‘payday’ financial products with Annual Percentage Rates as high as 391% may seem like their only option. but there is a group of concerned Hoosiers who are working hard to give people an alternative.

Yesterday, UNITE INDY and other partner entities met to hear Andy Nelson, Senior Policy Analyst with the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, (pictured) and Teresa Reimschisel, Operations & Programs Director of Prosperity Indiana, explain how Indiana Community Loan Centers can be a real solution to this economic equity problem. These centers are needed to provide loans at fair interest rates that would not doom borrowers to endless payments and bankruptcy. More on this to come!

Since 2017 UNITE INDY has provided a free web-based system at UNITEINDY.org that connects churches, ministries, and other charities to share their volunteer needs or needed items. UNITE INDY also provides the manpower necessary to assist smaller organizations—that have no one to upload needed items—the help they require to access this service. Through this portal, UNITE INDY has brought hundreds of volunteers and thousands of dollars worth of needed goods into the hands of those who assist the poor.

UNITE INDY comes behind urban pastors and ministry leaders by addressing personal and professional needs with free services for those who work tirelessly in their neighborhoods to care for the needy and bereft. 

Remember, almost 1 out of every 3 children in Indianapolis lives below the poverty level, yet even in the aftermath of the COVID shut down, as our economy comes back to life and employment is returning, all this good news stops at the lines surrounding many of our inner city neighborhoods. In some neighborhoods of Marion County unemployment is now 21%, and poverty remains the overwhelming divider of people.

Please donate to UNITE INDY now. There are a number of choices that are all secure and safe. By sending your fully tax deductible gift* now we can have a greater impact meeting needs in our community in 2021.